Picasso had the freedom to forge his identity as a painter. In May 1904, he moved to a dilapidated tenement in the Montmartre district of Paris known as the Bateau-Lavoir. It was here that Picasso met his first long-term mistress, Fernande Olivier, whose companionship improved his mental state considerably and who served as a catalyst for his stylistic shift into the Rose Period (1904–1906). During this time, he became fascinated with acrobats, harlequins, and other circus folk, and portrayed these enchanting, marginal figures in rose-colored shades and with remarkable classical perfection.


Source Citation: Norton, Sydney. "Picasso, Pablo (1881–1973)." Encyclopedia of Leadership. Eds. George Goethals, Georgia Sorenson, and James Burns. Vol. 3. Thousand Oaks: Sage Reference, 2004. 1199-1202. 4 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. City Colleges Of Chicago. 15 Oct. 2008
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